Crystal Palace were on fire against West Ham on Sunday afternoon, as Oliver Glasner’s attack was on top form, seeing one star receive high praise from BBC pundit, Garth Crooks.
It was a glorious Sunday for Crystal Palace who beat West Ham 5-2 at Selhurst Park to secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Oliver Glasner’s side put in a remarkable performance last week against Liverpool and matched the intensity against the Hammers, scoring four in the first half – something that had never been done in Palace’s Premier League history.
Goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and an own goal courtesy of Emerson saw the points remain at Selhurst Park in what was a big victory for the Eagles as they look to build form.
The manager would have been impressed with the quality shown by his front three, who were at the top of their games at West Ham’s expense, seeing one of the trio lauded by BBC pundit, Garth Crooks.
Garth Crooks speaks highly of the performance of Jean-Philippe Mateta v West Ham
On what was a memorable day for Palace, two of Glasner’s players made it into Crooks’ BBC Premier League Team of the Week for their heroics against the Hammers.
Both Eze and Mateta made the pundit’s best XI of the week, with Crooks heavily praising the work of Mateta, whose two-goal display has gone somewhat under the radar due to the brilliance of Eze and Olise.
Writing in his column for BBC Sport, Crooks said:
“He scored two well-taken goals but his second was the pick of the bunch. The nutmeg by Eberechi Eze on Kurt Zouma must have been painful for the West Ham defender, but delightful to watch.
“Jean-Philippe Mateta played his part in another excellent performance by Crystal Palace. The Frenchman was outstanding last week against Liverpool and led the line brilliantly.
“It’s clearly noticeable that since the arrival of Oliver Glasner, the Eagles are playing with a freedom I haven’t seen for quite some time.
“They play with three at the back and look exciting again. I’ve no doubt the return of Michael Olise has something to do with it but it’s Mateta who seems to be reaping the real rewards.”
Jean-Philippe Mateta has been crucial to Crystal Palace in recent weeks
Things have been far from easy for Mateta at Palace, as the 26-year-old struggled to show his full potential after arriving from Mainz on a permanent basis in January 2022.
This season, however, the Eagles are finally seeing just why Steve Parish signed the Frenchman, with his numbers so far this term already eclipsing his record over the previous three Premier League seasons.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists | |
| 2020/21 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021/22 | 22 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022/23 | 29 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023/24 | 30 | 9 | 4 |
As you can see above, Mateta seems to have found sanctuary at Selhurst this term, particularly under the instruction of Glasner, who is reaping the benefits of having the striker in form and in his system.
Over the past two games in particular, the forward has shown his maturity and suitability to play in the Premier League, putting in back-to-back dazzling performances to aim to end the season on a high.
